Mobile Use Now a Fatal Distraction

Everyone is well aware of the extreme dangers of mobile use while driving, yet the numbers of fatal crashes due to mobile use are climbing. Study after study confirms that texting is the most distracting activity – it is simply not safe. How do we get the message across? How do we make it stop?

Volkswagen believes you should keep your mind on the road. Recently, VW shocked moviegoers in Hong Kong by showing an interactive public service announcement about the dangers of texting while driving. The motivation is to really send home the message ‘mobile use is now the leading cause of death behind the wheel’. It may be the most effective distracted driving campaign yet.

See VW YouTube ad here.

This YouTube ad by VW has gone viral with millions of views. It is filmed from the driver’s point of view allowing the moviegoers to see the steering wheel and the road ahead. The driver turns on the radio and then proceeds to drive for quite some time. The movie goers quietly watch trying to figure out what they are being shown. This is when someone in the projection booth, using a location based broadcaster, sends out a text simultaneously to every cell phone in the theatre. We watch as people go for their phones, pulling them out of their pockets to check the text. As they look away from the screen, the car veers off the road and crashes into a tree. The shocked crowd jumps and stares at the screen as the real message appears;

“Mobile use is now the leading cause of death behind the wheel” followed by “A reminder to keep your eyes on the road.”

The moviegoers didn`t even see that coming, and that is the point.

Across the country, police have made many announcements of their own with distracted driving campaigns that have issued thousands of tickets to drivers using cell phones. Apparently, we are not getting the message. Hopefully, this PSA by Volkswagen drives the message home!